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BASF faces prolonged shut-down after explosion

BASF faces a prolonged shut-down of production units at a chemical site in Germany, the largest of its kind in Europe, where a deadly explosion and fire killed two employees and injured dozens.

The German manufacturer said two steam crackers at the installation remain halted and another 20 facilities are either stopped or only partially working, according to a statement Tuesday. Crackers are the starting point for producing basic chemicals that go into everything from insulation materials to solvents.

In addition to the casualties, who were both firefighters, BASF said one person is still missing after blasts Monday at the sprawling site at Ludwigshafen, a town on the banks of the Rhine River where the company has its headquarters and biggest plant. Seventeen people were injured in the fire that took more than 12 hours to extinguish, eight of them severely.

The explosion is a setback for the world’s biggest chemicals maker, which has sought to reduce the number of accidents on site, revising goals for safety and health in 2015.

While German prosecutors and police in Ludwigshafen plan to carry out an investigation into the explosion, an extended shutdown of manufacturing capacity could also crimp earnings just as the company last week announced an uptick in demand for specialty chemicals.

Some production units could be down for an extended period of time, hurting sales and earnings, as investigations by the company and government agencies take place, Baader Bank analyst Markus Mayer said in a note to clients.

Read more at Bloomberg
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